Chapter 31: Hunger’s End

Chapter 31: Chapter 31: Hunger’s End

Gulp.

​The terrifying dragon fire supernova was swallowed by one of the thick crimson tentacles in a single, effortless gulp.

"....."

"???"

Shock.

Disbelief. ℯℯ𝑙.

​Lord Ignis hovered in midair, his handsome face frozen in utter shock.

​On the observation platform above, the wise Dragon Elder’s mouth fell completely agape, his silver beard trembling in the wind.

​The heavily armored Dragon Guards instantly clamped their hands over their own mouths, desperately stifling their terrified gasps.

​Even the massive dragons hovering in the distant sky were paralyzed. Their gigantic scaled maws dropped open so wide that entire concrete buildings could easily fit inside them.

​"My Lord...Did that vile thing just... eat your absolute flames?" the dragon elder whispered.

​"That is impossible, elder. That was our Lord’s Galena Supernova! That spell was meant to incinerate this entire mountain range! How could it just vanish without even a spark?"

​Another guard gripped his spear tightly, "It did not just vanish. That monster actually swallowed it whole. It treated our supreme leader’s ultimate attack like a casual afternoon snack!"

​Lord Ignis slowly lowered his trembling right hand. For the first time in his long reign, he felt a cold chill run down his spine.

​"My flames carry the supreme law of destruction. They are designed to burn mana itself. They should not be consumed by mere physical flesh."

​"But it is not just consuming them, My Lord! Look closely at its core! It is actively digesting your draconic mana!" the elder indicated with his index finger.

Lord Ignis squinted his sharp draconic eyes.

​Indeed. It was exactly as the Dragon Elder had said. This strange, anomalous entity was actively growing more powerful with every single attack it swallowed.

​That basically meant the more powerful the spell he unleashed, the stronger the entity would ultimately become. It was a flawless, terrifying counter to his destructive magic.

​"Such an ominous, parasitic creature... This has to be a secret biological weapon from Nozax, the Demon Partition. Those vile creatures... just what are they planning this time?"

​Just as those words left his mouth, the colossal red sun suddenly began rapidly shrinking and withdrawing its tendrils.

.

​"Well, I am completely full now. Thanks for the hot meal, Dragon Lord!"

​With a blinding flash of red light, the sphere shot upward and completely disappeared into the high sky, moving far too fast to track.

​Ignis’ veins bulged in anger. He immediately prepared to launch himself into the air to give chase, but he suddenly found that he could not move. His boots were completely glued to the floating invisible steps by a strange, crimson adhesive that looked exactly like thick spider webs.

​He was shocked once again. There was actually a substance in this world capable of binding him?

And why had he not sensed it attaching to him this entire time?

​Just what in the world was going on here?

​Ever since he received the report that a mere human boy had trespassed into their territory and entered the prison, absolutely everything around Lord Ignis had gone horribly wrong.

​"Is there a direct connection with that child?" he asked aloud, angrily burning the crimson webs off his boots.

​"Wait... where is that boy, anyway?"

​His glowing eyes scanned through the depths of the ruined dark prison, analyzing the terrain like a crystal-clear 3D map. Yet, to his utter bewilderment, he did not find a single trace of the human child. It was as if the boy had simply vanished from existence.

​Lord Ignis stared up at the empty sky where the red sun had escaped.

​"Just what exactly are you?" he whispered into the wind.

Hours gone by.

The long night finally passed, giving way to the pale morning light.

​On an isolated, dirt-covered stone road, a small figure lay completely motionless like a discarded corpse. Since the sun had barely risen, the streets were entirely deserted, leaving the boy completely undisturbed.

​Soon after, a towering dragonoid dressed in a stained chef’s uniform stepped out of a nearby building, dragging a massive bag of garbage to throw away.

​Suddenly, his slitted eyes landed on the unmoving figure in the dirt.

​"Huh? Who is this drunkard sleeping in the middle of the street?" he grumbled to himself.

​Curious, he cautiously stepped forward on his heavy draconic toes.

​As he drew closer, he realized the figure was not a full-grown adult at all. It was just a young boy.

​Reaching down, the chef rolled the boy onto his back to inspect his face, and his face froze. He immediately noticed the lack of scales and horns.

It was a human.

​Instinctively, a fierce, primal rage coursed through his draconic veins, urging him to rip the fragile human boy apart on the spot. But just as quickly as the bloodlust rose, it cooled down, strictly suppressed by the chef’s own rational willpower.

​"What in the world is a human doing all the way out here? If the patrol guards find him, they are going to kill him for sure."

The chef looked left and right down the empty street. The morning mist was still thick, but the heavy footsteps of the dragon clan patrol guards would be marching through this sector any minute.

​He sighed heavily, scratching his scaly chin.

​"If I leave him here, it will be a slaughter. If I take him in, it might be my head on the chopping block."

​Gritting his sharp teeth, the dragonoid made a split-second decision. He quickly dumped his bag of waste into the nearby alley, completely emptying the large burlap sack.

​With surprising gentleness for a creature of his massive size, he scooped up Krono’s unconscious body and slid the boy into the empty sack. Throwing the bag over his broad shoulder, the chef hurried back inside his tavern and firmly locked the heavy wooden door behind him.

​He carried the boy down into the warm, dimly lit cellar and placed him onto a soft pile of empty flour sacks.

Krono was still unconscious. But once he wakes up, a great surprise awaits him.